Rally Live: Grand Prix of South America, Day 25

Medellin to Cartagena

OMG it’s our last driving day…we can nearly taste the tang of sea salt on our lips….the Caribbean Sea is in sight, and our destination of Cartagena. 10,000kms nearly completed, what a sense of achievement!

No tests today, as the only one planned turned into a mud bath. The 4x4s were invited to try their luck, but we were afraid the mud was so thick it would just suck some of the smaller cars in, and we would never see them again. I may exaggerate, but the tractors had obviously been using the road recently, and they had just churned the road up too much for our safety.

Road Becomes Mud Bath (See Tractor In Distance).

It was though a lovely day for a drive, with the sun shining down on us… better with air conditioning, bit sweaty if in a Porche or TR4, as we drove through 30 degree heat. Much of our journey today was along dual carriageway, making for a relaxed drive, with only one section having repair work done, and that section having patchy tarmac.

This gave us time to dwell on the road signs. Unusual topic, you say. Well, yes, but we are all used to the same road signs at home. Here, we had often see the rear of a tanker, and the sign for Bump and Tolls.

Tanker, Bump and Tolls.

The Dreaded Speed Bump.

But have you ever seen these three signs at home?

Aardvark (We Think)

Lizard or Gekko

Monkey

After stopping, but not getting out of the car, for a light lunch of fresh coconut juice and corn on the cob, we progressed on.

Blogger Eats Lunch.

We drove past a junior gaucho herding cows from his horse.

Junior Gaucho

Past the hat sales capital of Columbia.

Past the Horse and Cart Man

Home Delivery

And even past the turkeys on a motorbike.

Until we reached our destination of the Conrad Hotel, where all our participants passed under the finish arch to have a well earned cold drink, followed by a dip in the Caribbean Sea.

The Finish 11 To 19.

Tomorrow’s blog will be the last from the Grand Prix of South America, with a look at the Gala Dinner and Awards Ceremony, plus an overview of the last month.

About Bespoke Rallies

Bespoke Rallies offers adventurous classic car style tours in some of the world’s most fascinating regions. These are not speed events but offer the opportunity to enjoy driving on the lesser travelled by-ways.